The Smallwood Family Legacy Generation Two: A Sims 4 Story

Chapter Twenty Two: Tearaway Toddler

My growing boys were just as cheeky together as before. When they were toddlers, they were as thick as thieves, in childhood nothing changed. Dad was now on the receiving end of their constant questions and teasing, but he took it all in his stride. He'd lived in a house full of girls before I came along, he could withstand anything!

Monica was becoming a handful too! She was even harder work than her big brother Jude! Mum and dad didn't quite know how to handle her, she was an adorable little devil!

She had this knack for being around you when it wasn't convenient. Mum and dad struggled to get any alone time since my babies arrived, and with Monica, it was becoming nigh on impossible!

"Gwanny, Gwampa, kisssssss!!!"

Chester was studious, despite being naughty at home, he still had time for his homework. While his little sisters kept me and his mother busy...

"Where is Hazel nut? I can't find her!" Jess would just laugh at me.

"Oh Landon you're such a big goof!"

"Ahhhhh there's my little Hazel nut!" Hazel giggled at me, she also thought I was such a goof. In fact all my girls wrapped me round their fingers, no more so than their mother!

Dad had cut down the drinking, slightly, but he was always at the bar...concocting. He had a few nuggets of wisdom to pass on to Jude, who wasn't listening as usual! "Stay in school, don't be a fool!"

"Grandpa!" Jude snorted, "You're weird!"

"Yes it has been said before!" It's true that my dad was one of the coolest vampires out there, but even he had his fair share of abuse from people calling him a weirdo and a freak. But dad always took these things in good form, even though I knew it had hurt him, not to be called these names himself, but for the pain it had caused Aunt Lilith!

And now my little weirdo was giving me grief! She truly was an odd little fishy! "Dada, out!"

"Okay sweetness!"

Yeah, Monica was a master at making me do stuff! Maybe it was because she was the youngest, I dunno, but I felt compelled to do her bidding!

Dad scolded me, he also tried to give me a lesson on parenting, "Put her down son, and make her walk herself! She's not a puppy!"

His lecturing continued, "If she was mine..." Yeah dad, even though I wasn't born, I was told how you did exactly the same with Raven when she was Monica's age! Yeah you were just as big a softy as me dad, so busted!

As Chester got older, he was becoming rather good at entertaining himself, and with three younger siblings that was just as well!

The girls were bad enough solo, but get the two of them together and it was Armageddon!

Hazel was the angelic one of the two, we all knew who was the mastermind! Yeah baby Mon! She was so sweet and innocent looking, pah, she was a little devil in disguise!

But even though our brood was a handful, Jessica and I always found time for each other. I tried hard to have as much alone time with my wife as I could. I was still so very much in love with that girl! I couldn't remember a time when I wasn't...and I didn't want to remember! She was my life, her and our babies!

I have to say, mum and dad were great when we wanted to have some alone time. They would keep the kids occupied while Jess and I kept each other occupied, no more babies for us...but the practice was good!

The two older boys would play together a lot. And their latest favourite was water bomb fights. "Dude, you're getting it for that one!"

"OWWWWW that went in my eye Judey!"

"Revenge shall be mine muahahahaha!"

"HEY! OUCH! That was not funny brother!"

"HAHAHA YOUR FACE!" Yeah they maybe played a little rough, but boys will be boys!

Mum enjoyed spending time with the girls, she'd missed being a mother so much, and technically still being young enough to bare more children, she was still broody! "Splish gamma!"

"Yes baby, splish splash all you want! Isn't it fun?"

"Yuss is coooool!"

Even though her sister was easily pleased with a paddling pool, Monica was a hard girl to satisfy! "No dada I no wanna lurn! I wanna play all days!"

"*sigh* Well Mon Mon, I'm afraid life isn't like that!"
"Furgets life, it sucks!"

Yeah she drove me crazy, and I would rather burn in the sunshine just to get away from her demands sometimes.

I would hide away from her, peace was short lived though...

...for she always found me! "Ohhh what the f..."

"Hiiiiiii dada!"

Trying to explain to her that making a mess in her big brothers' room was not nice, went down like a lead balloon! I might as well have been speaking in martian!

We got a fountain, just to make the front garden look nice, but unknown to me it was a magic fountain that granted wishes. Jess discovered this one day and she made a wish of her own...

...she wished for more life so she could be with me a little longer. And it broke my heart! I'd never thought about that, Jess wasn't a vampire and she would die, not like me who was immortal! I had much to think about...

Chester still loved his Gamma! Every day she returned from work, he would be waiting for her like her loyal follower. And mum secretly loved the attention!

Me? I wasn't so into my loyal followers! Like their brothers before them, they liked to stalk me all over the house and ask me dumb and embarrassing questions. "Daddy where babies come from?" Hazel asked one night with a cheeky little smirk on her face.

"What is babies dada?" Monica added with glee. Yeah they were little devils!

Chester also loved his grandpa and waited for his return after a hard day's work. He also liked to help out at home, tidying up after his siblings...for recompense of course!

"GRANDPA you're BACK!"

"Yes!"

"Hello Chester how was school?" Yeah dad was a little overwhelmed by the attention. Hero worship was something he had missed, something I used to do and it made him feel good! For Chester and Jude to look up to him like that, it made his day! What he didn't realise was that he was still my hero, forever!

And even more so when he took on the terrible twosome! Yeah Caleb Vatore was pretty gosh darn great!

Jude had spent the evening in the telescope looking into space, and it did wonders for his imagination. He began to tell me an alien ghost story...

"The alien died when his spaceship crashed, but that was not the end of him...oh no!"

"He became a GHOST and haunted ALL of Forgotten Hollow! He crept up on old ladies and frightened their wigs off!"

"Jude, I think you need to wind down and I have just the thing for you. Come see what daddy has put in the front garden!"

With the extra money we had, I bought a swing for the kids, and as I pushed Jude he squealed with delight. "FASTER DADDY, FASTER!" He cried into the sky.

He couldn't stop giggling, and as my arms got tired and so did my son, we decided to call it a night. "Daddy you're so cool!" Jude chuckled, and it warmed my heart. I was cool!

Chester painted a picture for his Gamma, something she could put above her coffin. "It's an autumnal picture Gamma!"

Meanwhile the tearaway toddler was on the loose and about to wreak havoc once again in the boys' bedroom.

Across the street, Damian was preparing for Noah's birthday. He was becoming a teen and my best buddy was a little sad about that, my nephew was growing up!

And as he made a wish before blowing out his candles...

...little brother Jonah decided to sing him Happy Birthday...out of tune hehe!

Of course Damian had to join in, an embarrassing scene for Noah, who was missing my sister anyway because she was at work!

He blew out his candles, and grew up with an attitude! 

Something he could control when he wanted to! He looked so like his mother!

Jonah idolised Noah as a toddler, and now they were teen and child, nothing really changed there. Noah was still Jonah's hero!

And speaking of attitudes, Chester was going through a phase! One of those mood swings that they tell you about but you don't believe it will ever happen to you until you see it with your very own eyes!

And by the look on Chester's face, he wasn't really prepared for it either. Poor little guy, I'm sure he didn't like feeling that way!

I continued to be stalked by the terrible two! So I thought a little divide and conquer was on the cards.

Hazel loved the paddling pool, so I thought it would be a good idea to take her out and play with her. Maybe then she'd get off my back and stop teaming up with her little sister.

Yeah I was gonna be best daddy ever! Well at least I hoped I would!

After her curfew, I spotted Natalie my niece heading off somewhere dressed to the nines! Or was it Nicole? Damn they both looked so alike I could never tell which one was which now that they were teenagers!

After Jessica's success with the wishing well, dad had a go at wishing for a promotion at work so that he could finally be at the top of his career. And it worked, he got that promotion and he was ecstatic!

It was now Jessica's turn to be on the receiving end of tearaway Monica! Funny though, Little Mon Mon was always as good as gold with her mother, yeah I was definitely being played here! Played by little munchkin people!

Jude continued to be a cheeky little chappie! He was told no cake, but he ate it anyway, and he did it with a sweet smile on his naughty little mug!

And Monica started to go easy on her old dad. I got a hug and a "I love you dada!" from her as Chester scoffed behind us.

"Pfft, dad she's got you exactly where she wants you!" Chester laughed.

"Yeah she has!" I replied, "And I don't care she's my baby!"

My last, no other child would come after little Monica. So I savoured the moments, every one, good and bad. Because all my kids were so precious! I loved being a father, I knew that I would and to think ages ago I thought Leah was the baby mama for me...how things change. How people grow! My dad was always so wise...

...it wasn't until I became a father myself that I appreciated just how much. Caleb Vatore, vampire, brother, husband, father and grandfather. Founder of the Good Vampire Club, something he abandoned to take care of his family when there was conflict and danger. My dad was an amazing guy, and he didn't know it at all! And I loved him with all of my heart and soul!

Stacey came round to see us, well mainly to see Jess and the kids, I was a bonehead as usual and I got a thump on the shoulder as a sign of affection.

The sisters caught up, talked kids and work. Jess was lamenting how difficult Mon was being. Stacey seemed to sympathise.

Apparently Beejey was not very helpful with the twins, he slept a lot and went out a lot too. She hardly spoke to him or even saw him. Yeah Stacey was unhappy in her marriage.

Abi called to give me a bit of gossip about Rave, she was talking so fast I could hardly make out what she was saying. I listened like a good little brother though...

...and like a bad uncle, I kept to myself the fact that one of her daughters was sneaking off last night. I didn't wanna get involved in that kinda stuff, no way.

I needed a little alone time, so I went out to the porch and took out all my frustrations on the bag...but I wasn't alone for long, my little shadow appeared from outta nowhere! "Hi-ya dada!" Oh great! "Whatcha doins?"

It was a busy day, summer was well and truly here and Jude was out in his new clothes to soak up the rays.

Jess was having her own toddler troubles with our little Hazel nut. She refused to learn with the flash cards as her partner in crime came waddling in to back her up.

"I is not bein' subjected ta this mummy!" Hazel ranted.

"You tells her sista!" Yeah Mon I don't think your sister needed a cheerleader but hey! Poor Jess, I knew exactly what it was like when our two daughters tag teamed and clothes lined you outta nowhere.

The day that Jude discovered the sprinklers was a grand old day indeed, he seemed to be a water baby and enjoyed summer time more than any other season.

Jessica was smart enough to bring in her own reinforcements in the shape of my dad, who she had formed a rather sweet bond with lately. 

Hazel nut was not impressed. "Is dis supposed ta scare me, huh?"

Well, looks like it worked there little nut!

Dad explained calmly and firmly to Hazel why she should respect her parents and not be rude to her mother. She listened quietly, mesmerised by her grandpa, and took in everything he said. "So you see my dear, good girls always get ahead! Naughty girls get jobs picking up dog poo in the park!" Jess let out a HA when dad mentioned the park and the dog poo, hey he could be a funny guy!

Our plan of divide and conquer continued, as did Jude's love affair with the sprinklers. Jess took Monica out to the paddling pool on that bright and sunny day. She loved it!

"Dis...is awesomes!" Monica giggled chewing on her ducky, as I spent the best part of an hour teaching her sister about shapes and cows and pigs.

Mum offered to take Mon off of Jessica's hands for a while, Monica wasn't too pleased, she hadn't caused mischief in at least twelve hours!

Hazel's mood had improved though, which was something. I wanted her to grow up well, and her birthday was just around the corner. It was important to me that she was a happy toddler, and took her happiness into childhood.

Dad took up flower arranging, something he did to keep his zen! Or so he said, I think it was just an excuse to hide away upstairs away from kids and my mum, who he was going through a rough patch with lately, and it hurt my heart. He was a mean flower arranger though...on the plus side!

The kids all spent the evening outside, chatting and playing. Jude was never too far away from his beloved sprinklers, yeah it was gettin' serious hehe!

Jessica and I decided to go out and join them, have a fun evening as a family. It was great, the six of us, while mum and dad sulked separately inside.

And oh my God did I still love Jess so damn much! She was my sun, my moon and my stars! How was I so lucky to have found this woman and had all of these beautiful kids with her? And why did I not know straight away when we first met that she was the yin to my yang? Well I knew it now, and would always know it from now on!

We rarely got time as a whole family, so this night had been amazing. Hazel nut wanted in the pool again though and we had to explain that she'd freeze to death, cue the pouty lips after! What a girl she was!

Dad was depressed, he and mum had drifted apart and he had no idea why. She was sulking, he was trying to apologise and things were just getting messier.

He turned to his drinking again, something that concerned me more than his tiff with mum. He'd promised not to go there again, and right now he was threatening to break that promise.

As mum baked Hazel's birthday cake, she lectured him, and it made him feel even worse. What the hell had happened to those two? They were the epitome of love and devotion!

"That's right Vatore, just drink all your troubles away!" She spat at him, it was horrible to hear!

"What do you want me to do? It's not like you care anymore!" Yes it was unbearable!

Mum called us sadly from the living room to bring Hazel to her cake, she regretted being mean instantly. I had a feeling they were fighting because she wanted to move out and he didn't, a regular theme between them.

Hazel made a wish and blew out her candles, she was soon going to be a big girl, my little Hazel nut! I could almost cry!

She gave me the biggest smile, before she aged up, and it made my heart swell with pride. Yeah I was losing my baby, but she was gonna be an amazing child!

Although she inherited a squeamish trait, she aspired to be a whiz kid, something I knew she would have no problem with whatsoever! She'd also inherited my toothy gap!

What a pretty little thing she was, the apple of my eye, and the image of her mother!

The first place she headed to was the attic, to play on her grandpa's computer. Yeah that would please him, not!

Daniel Straud, my nephew, passed by and totally ignored me. It hurt I don't mind tellin' ya! But teens will be teens I guess!

Chester and Jude had finally managed to convince their grandpa to watch some television. He agreed reluctantly, if anything to get my mum's cold shoulder out of his mind, but he showed in his expression that his participation was grudged. "It will be awesome grandpa, trust us!" Chester smiled, but he was having none of it!

"This is Luigi the great Italian chef, and he cooks great pasta dishes while juggling vegetables, it's awesome grandpa!" Chester enthused.

Jude piped up, "And he hasn't cut himself once with Grande Fetta!"

"Grande...Fet-ta?" Dad was losing patience, reality T.V. was the worst thing to start with!

"Yeah!" Chester smiled, "His knife, Big Slice! Grande Fetta!"

"He named his knife?" Dad moaned.

"Of course, cool huh?" Jude giggled and bounced up and down on the couch.

"Grandpa's not feelin' it Judey!" Chester noticed my dad's discomfort.

"I tried!" He announced...

...and left in a puff of smoke! "What's his problem?" Jude grunted.

"He's old!" Chester nodded matter-of-fact.

"So is Gamma, and she thinks television is awesome sauce!" Jude shrugged.

"Yeah but she's not as old as grandpa, he's ancient and he sees things a bit differently. And him and Gamma are fighting right now." Chester tried to explain to his younger brother.

"Well we have to do something about that, I hate seeing them so sad!" Yeah my kiddos worshiped their grandparents.

"I don't think you can Judey, he's set in his ways and she's...well she is too!" Jude got up and laughed as Chester called to him, "Judey!"

"Where are you going, you're gonna miss the final juggle match with Felipe the Sous Chef!"

"I have a plan!" Jude chuckles, and leaves Chester confused.

Mum was working on her latest novel when she heard that familiar sound of dad appearing out of mist next to her.

"So what is it?" Dad muttered.

"What is what?"

"Jude said you wanted to see me, well Trixie what is it?"

"I don't want to see you, our grandson is being a little toerag as usual!" Mum nipped back at him. Yeah Jude's plan was a good one, but it was failing epically.

"I see!"

"Well I'll just...continue with my new cocktail then!"

"Yes Caleb please do!"

"Hot damn that is...Trixie you have to try..."

"Grrrr!"

"Baby how long are we gonna go on like this?" My dad pleaded.

"I don't know Caleb you tell me!"

"Okay I will, it stops now! You are my wife Beatrix and I demand that you stop bickering with me...and start loving me again!" Mum merely grunted and screwed up her face, my dad's plea falling on deaf ears. I hated this, I hated it so much! But they had to work it out for themselves, obviously Jude's plan had failed!

My little Hazel nut had not lost her love for the paddling pool, as a child she took as much pleasure laying in it as she did as a toddler.

And her little sis had me and Chester captivated by her story about how she managed to get to the potty all by herself. It was an epic tale that Chester found most riveting and told  her so, "TMI Mon, T...M...I!"

Hazel was driving Jude nuts, talking about how awesome the paddling pool was and telling him that it surpassed the sprinklers by far. Jude was having none of it though.

I was sure I spotted Tabs passing by as the rain came on, she looked good. She'd had twins with my cousin Dylan and they seemed very happy. And I was happy for them both.

It seemed that Jude just loved water, when the rain belted down on him he embraced it and laughed, licking it from his lips.

He then spotted the curfew, the thing I fought when I was a teen. He stared at it for a long time, then took off into the kitchen for cake.

As he and his siblings ate, he brought the subject up with them, this was the day I had been dreading since they learned to talk and think for themselves. "So this curfew!"

"What about it?" Chester answered him as Hazel joined them.

"Well...what is the point of it?" Chester smiled widely as Hazel tucked into her cake, not having anything useful to say.

"It's there for our protection, so dad says!"

"I don't get it!" Jude replied with a mouthful of cake.

My youngest opted to eat her cake in the laundry room away from her brothers and sister. She was getting rather moody, and she refused to go to bed!

She grumbled and scared us all away, dropping her plate on the floor and climbing upon the ottoman grunting all the way.

Curled up on there, she dozed off with a full belly and moan, yes she was definitely a tearaway toddler indeed!

Chester found her and was tempted to turn on the washing machine to wake her up and annoy her. I told him if he did that I would kill him, we all needed a little bit of a rest from Monica the monster.

Even dad tried to clear away the dirty dishes as quietly as possible, he knew that waking this beast was the worst thing to do! Chester giggled, knowing what a hold that little purple haired fiend had on our family!

Mum eventually talked her into going upstairs to the nursery and listening to a cool book she had picked out especially for her. Yeah mum had a way with her, and she always managed to get her to do things, something me and her mother could never do.

That just left me and Jess alone, alone to do whatever we wanted! "So..." I mumbled bashfully.

"So..." She giggled. Yeah we could do ANYTHING!

So while the kids occupied themselves...

...so did we ooh la la!

"So, that was cool!" I laughed. Since when did we turn into shy teenagers? Jess giggled again and blushed.

"Yeah, we should do this again some time!" Totally babe, I'm game!

I missed her, we'd been so busy raising our kids and since mum and dad had fallen out we rarely had alone time anymore. But tonight was great and it left me wanting her more than ever. I loved that girl, and it felt awesome!

The next morning, Jude was annoyed that Hazel had barged into his and Chester's room. "Hey you have your own room!"

"Bite me!"

"Don't touch my computer Hazel!"

"Or what?"

"Or I'll kill your dolls!"

"You asked for it!" Jude laughed like a maniac as Hazel put her sticky little fingers on his computer, and her doll was about to lose it's head!

I was being stalked again as mum slumbered in her coffin, Monica asked me all sorts of weird questions like was her brother a Merboy because he liked water, what???

Seriously, I was wondering if the T.V. had been a good idea after all. As I listened to question after question, I tried not to laugh at her serious little face.

"And if Chesta is a vampire, then will he eat us?"
"I'm a vampire Mon, will I eat you?"

"I dunno, am I tasty?" Yeah my head was spinnin' after all that stuff man, I tell ya!

Chester and Jess happily watched a documentary about Selvadorado while I was still being grilled by the tearaway!

It was a hard morning, but I got through it, barely! I had a headache and I needed my Jess! But when I went in to speak to her she and Chester shushed me and I was dismissed.

I was feeling a bit neglected, a little unloved. Feeling sorry for myself, then I discovered...NO MONICA!!! It was gonna be a good day after all, she'd gone off and found her next victim hehe!

She wandered all over the house, inside and out! Climbing and running and getting up to no good in general!

It was the toy unicorn's turn to be pummeled, questioned and tortured! She ran this roost, and nobody was safe, human or animal or stuffed toy!

But as I said, mum was great with her and managed to wrap her around her pinky. "Gamma cuddle!" Monica would whine, she loved her Gamma so much, almost as much as her older brother did.

And of course her Gamma could not deny her cuddles, not ever!

I found myself alone with my little tearaway, after I'd pounded the bag outside for a little release. She sat there, all angelic, playing blic-bloc baby! I sat down on the bed while she was distracted, hoping to watch her in a rare state of quiet...

...I spoke too soon! She missed nothing, this child! "Hi dada!" So much for quiet, *sigh*!

To Be Continued...